Reaper's Ascension
by Akumatt
Summary: A new transfer student shows up at Konoha and quickly shakes things up on his first day. Who is this person and why does everyone get the chills when they are around him? Expect intelligent battles later on. P.S.: If you like bashing Sakura, you will love this.
1. Chapter 1 - Transfer Student

He had such bright and vibrant orange hair that the sunlight glinted off it and stabbed Iruka Umino in the eyes. Iruka grimaced as he adjusted his green vest over his nightmare black long sleeve shirt. The band over his head seemed heavier and more cumbersome than it usually did. His eyebrows came together, forming an angry, thick black line. _This whole week has been hell, and now this! Why can't anything go right...?_ He sighed, immensely depressed at his lot in life.

After being chewed out by the Hokage for failing another mission, he had been assigned to a stupid class full of dumb children who didn't know the difference between a shruiken and a serrated dagger. Perhaps sensing his reluctance to take the school seriously, the entire class had been in a dazed state of constant boredom for two weeks, and Ituka didn't need chakra to understand that an undertone of rebelliousness could be sensed.

Gum decorated the undersides of the desks like confetti during a party, and once again, Shikimaru was taking control of another student's limbs, forcing the kid to walk on the ceiling. And now some transfer student was ignoring his own teacher? Iruka started walking forward. Hinata was the first to figure out what was going on, and tried to nudge her snoring classmate. Failing at this, she thought to herself, _Come on it's not a big deal. I can get over my shyness by just...you know, committing daily acts of friendliness._

Iruka was halfway there.

More and more of the students started to realize something out of the ordinary was about to happen. Shikimaru relinquished control and the kid stuck to the ceiling accidentally released the chakra in his feet, crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Hinata hesitated, then closed her eyes and kicked the sleeping boy in the chair next to her.

He didn't even move in inch.

She covered her face in anticipation as Iruka approached, then hid her face completely as the sound of his footsteps faded away like summer.

Silence.

Then, "What the hell do you think you're doing son." It wasn't a question. More of an accusation. Hinata waited with bated breath, hoping and waiting and wishing for it to be over already. The atmosphere frightened her. A droplet of sweat curled down her scalp, then attached itself to her hair and slipped off.

"You just going to ignore me?!" Hinata noticed Iruka's voice go up an octave and gulped. Silence again. Hinata raised her head. _Maybe it's over?_ She looked up just as Iruka's fist smashed into the top of the boy's head. The smack could be heard several classes over, as many earwitnesses recounted later. She flinched.

Suddenly the entire room grew dark. Hinata strained to see what was happening, then sneezed. When she flicked off the snot that had landed on her arm she realized she had goosebumps.

Iruka thought to himself frantically, _I can sense something...but what the hell? I've never experienced such a heavy sensation like this before. Is this chakra?!_ The hair on his legs and arms stood up and he almost stumbled backwards. His fall stopped. Iruka looked down to see the orange-haired boy's hand clamped down like a vise on his arm.

A presence seemed to enter the room and the air thickened into a viscous-feeling soup. Chills went up the entire class' spines. A girlish shriek split the air.

As if on cue, the boy woke up from his long slumber and raised his head slowly. A creaking sound ensued as his head creeped upward. Iruka wanted to step backwards as, in the back of his mind, he could feel danger. Every fiber of his being yelled at him, warning him to step away. Iruka laughed nervously. "I'm sorry for hitting you, that's just my customary greeting to people I've come to like!"

The head just kept creeping up. In the darkness it seemed that the body was nowhere to be found. Up, up up, the head went up. Then it snapped up again and was face-to-face with Iruka's own. Iruka recoiled at the sight of a white face, a ghoulish white face with two black stripes on either side, recoiled at the crushed lemon yellow pupils that seemed to peer into his very soul and the black hole of an eye surrounding it.

Iruka closed his eyes.

"If there is a god then have him save me..."

Then Ichigo ripped off the mask and yawned. It faded into spirit particles. The sun streamed back in through the windows. Iruka fell to the ground in horror and astonishment. He clutched his own heart and his chest moved up and down. "My bad, Sensei. Thought you were someone else for a second, haha! If I hadn't checked, I might have killed you." Orange hair lit up the room, just like Ichigo's curved smile.

Everyone spent an entire five minutes staring at the boy with the unrelenting grin. Iruka finally calmed down and cleared his throat. Nobody was buying it, but for his sake, the author will pretend that none of the students snickered or openly laughed in Iruka Umino's face. Moving on.

"Well...the Chunin exams are in the works, so be prepared for that. Which basically means they are today. Because no proper teacher ever warns his class of important and potentially life-changing tests. Meet me at the tournament arena in two hours."

"You wanted to speak with me, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was wary of being on the receiving end of his wrath. What he was about to say could possibly be viewed as unforgivable. If Third Hokage fought against the man before him, he believed he would lose - the guy was an absolute and utter monster. _If I anger him I could really die. Not even Hashirama himself could defeat this man_. "Please...don't unleash your full power unless you believe you are in danger of dying. And even then, control its power."

Pause.

 _I should take a more dominant stance if I want him to actually listen to me._ He sucked in a breath. _Come on, he won't get angry you scaredy-cat._

"Don't kill anyone, you upstart, or I swear..."

"...Yes sir."

"We will be having a lottery to choose who will fight whom."

"Isn't that unfair Iruka-Sensei? What if the match ups are between people with unequal power? I think we should- "

"Sakura no one gives a fuck, shut up. The people reading this all hate you, and if they don't then they should. Also, does anyone else have any questions? Besides Sakura." Iruka, satisfied that no one important was objecting, turned away from her and reached into the bowl. Slipping two pieces of paper out of the clear sphere, he read them outline in a deep baritone: "Gaara and Sakura." He smiled. "Would you look at that." Pointing at Gaara, Iruka ordered, "Make me proud son."

Gaara stood languidly in the swirling sand, clothed in all midnight black pants and a short-sleeved shirt that wrapped around a lean, muscular body. A seemingly hollow gourd rested on his back, and a white scarf curled around him.

Sakura could not meet Gaara's eyes.

Iruka announced the countdown, then let his hand drop to the floor, signaling the beginning of the fight.

Sakura immediately bolted away, throwing shruiken over her back. Sand flew out of the gourd and shielded Gaara, making them bounce harmlessly away. Out of breath, Sakura circled around Gaara warily. A large yawn escaped out of the Sand village boy. He did not even turn when Sakura moved out of his field of vision.

 _He isn't concerned about me at all! He's just playing with me.._. Sakura whined to herself. _Maybe he won't expect me to commit to a full frontal attack! Hah, fuck you Gaara._

Sakura yanked six kunai from her belt and placed three in each hand, running towards Gaara's back. She stopped a foot away from his back, then thrust forward with both hands.

The kunai broke.

Sweat dripped down from the roots of Sakura's hair. She backed away with a deathly pale face and eyes that screamed of fear. Her arms trembled, yet even slapping herself did not cause her mood to change. _I can't do this, I-I...don't think that even Sasuke could beat this fiend._

Gaara's hardened skin faded away. He knew without even looking that her will to fight had been broken.

The sand coalesced into a huge fist that was ten feet taller than Sakura, casting a shadow that stretched far behind her. It struck Sakura from below, then, while she was in the air, slapped her down.

Iruka reached out for her chakra and realized it had faded drastically.

Stepping in front of Gaara, even though the child did not look like he was interested in stopping his attack, Iruka looked at Sakura. Who promptly flipped over. She was now upside down.

... _What_?

Gaara dropped Iruka to the ground. Iruka finally understood what had been happening.

 _I hadn't entered a set of Inception just now...that fool Gaara picked me up and threw me out of the way!_

Gaara's fist of sand gingerly picked up Sakura's limp, unconscious, and fairly unattractive body, then slammed into the ground. Once. Twice. Ten minutes passed before Kakashi, laughing his ass off, rescued Sakura. Because that's what always happens.

Iruka got up and groaned out, "The winner is...Gaara." Then he fell, out and down for the count.

Kakashi grinned. "Guess we need a new announcer."

Anko Miturashi held out the two pieces of paper in her hand and yelled, "Shikimaru!"

Shikimaru woke up, "Yes?"

Anko continued, "And Sasuke."

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2 - Killing Intent

**Wolvenwarrior65: I was actually planning to cram a crap-ton of Sakura bashing in this chapter since one of the stars here is Sasuke, but I'll try to only use her when things get too serious.**

 **guest: Thanks you are nice too, fam.**

 **This is addressed to an arrogant prick who gave me a review: Penises should be cut off of all men everywhere. Oh wait, my bad. I thought we were all supposed to say retarded shit for a second.** **Have a nice day son.**

Sasuke vaulted over the balcony and fell to the arena three stories below. He rolled to a stop, came to rest on his head, and started breakdancing. Shikimaru took the stairs. One floor down, two to go. Sasuke was on to windmills. Two floors completed. Air flares now. By the time Sasuke had progressed to gliding like Michael Jackson, Shikimaru had finally gotten to the arena.

Yawning, he slowly forced himself to relax into a fighting stance.

Asuma brightened when he saw this. Maybe he has finally learned good work ethic.

Sasuke did the same.

Ankh shouted, "Begin!"

Then Shikimaru sat down, already tired. "Look Sasuke, I don't actually want to pass this stupid exam if I have to fight you. I'm nowhere near your fighting level - the Uciha aren't world-renowned for nothing. Just beat me up a little and we'll call it a day. Alright?"

Sasuke was startled at first, but as Shikimaru talked, a sneer grew and grew on his face. "Ok. Ok I like this. Did you learn how to be a pussy ass bitch from Asuma?"

Shikimaru opened his eyes slowly.

" -Please have him teach me. I mean, I've always wanted to be a coward." Sasuke cracked up, heaving and hawing.

He almost didn't dodge the gigantic shruiken that streaked past him.

A silvery thread dropped from Shikimaru's hands, but Sasuke didn't have time to worry about a trick on the eyes, because Shikimaru instantly threw three kunai in rapid succession. Two of them almost hit their mark.

A patch of grass was disturbed.

Sasuke's shocked face as the kunai tore his immaculate clothes to shreds almost made up for his comment about Asuma. Was something Shikimaru would never say in a billion years! Shikimaru rushed towards Sasuke, ducked Sasuke's desperate, last-minute punch and kicked his adversary's legs out from under him.

The boy ninja fell backward onto the ground, wind fleeing his lungs. He could only wriggle like a fish on sea, willing the air to come back to him. Shikimaru picked Sasuke up by his neck and then pushed him back down again with considerable force.

His hands formed a complex sign. Shikimaru reached for the innate chakra he could feel inside him, then, as he grabbed it with his mind, uttered, "Kagemane no Jutsu!"

The dam between reality and the aquamarine stream of energy broke, and the energy flowed out. Shikimaru's shadow bubbled like a potion in a cauldron, then stretched itself, extending like Laffy taffy. It crept along the ground before touching Sasuke's sandals.

 _Shadow possession complete_.

Shikimaru made himself calm down. He smiled. Sasuke smiled.

"I guess I forgot to mention that I can possess people. I didn't think it was important because Asuma was the one who taught me it..." Shikimaru let the fake smile fall off his face.

Sasuke stopped mouthing words and the smile dropped off.

Shikimaru picked out a kunai out of his bag and brandished it in the sun. A tag with a seal that differentiated it from other kunai as an exploding type wrapped around the handle. He tossed it ten yards to the left of him, placing it in Sasuke's path. He took a step forward. Sasuke mimicked him.

"I want to enjoy this...you bastard," Shikimaru whispered.

Onlookers Might Guy and Hatake Kakashi convened together. "Has Shikimaru ever acted this serious around you Kakashi? All his teachers have nothing to say about him as a person, as he is pretty uninteresting. But he's like a new man!"

Kakashi replied with, "Shikimaru has a mild personality. You never really see his innermost emotions. But if a person insults someone dear to Shikimaru or someone he holds close to his heart and soul...he will never, ever forgive them."

By the time the conversation was over, Shikimaru had walked nine yards forward. Then he let Sasuke's foot step on the kunai, released his possession, activating the seal in the process, and caused it to explode.

Sasuke's body crashed into the wall behind him. Burn marks covered his torso and legs, giving a pocked look. Shikimaru did not move. _I need Sasuke to go near_ _ **that**_ _place_ , thought Shikimaru.

He threw another exploding kunai, hoping to drive Sasuke to the right.

Sasuke had other ideas.

Weaving signs, Sasuke finished by shouting, "Katon - Gouryuuka no Jutsu!"

The air itself was incinerated as a ball of fire formed into the shape of a immense dragon's skull. Rearing its head, the grand dragon fire technique went forward and collided with the kunai. It detonated a safe distance away from Sasuke.

Sasuke attempted to peer through the cloud. He spit out a curse and stimulated his sharingan.

Five kunai and eight shruiken ripped away the cloud cover.

Sasuke caught one kunai and hit four kunai and a shruiken away with it, then blocked the rest. A burning sensation resided as his curse seal throbbed on his neck, and a large wing sunk back into his back after bearing the brunt of the attack.

Shikimaru sent a single kunai on its way, this time in full view of Sasuke.

 _What child's play_ , Sasuke scoffed.

Shikimaru smiled.

The shadow belonging to Shikimaru's jutsu burst out of the sandy ground and plucked the knife out of the air. It launched it with greater force, increasing the velocity of the kunai by a hundred fold. It sliced Sasuke's cheek open. Sasuke stumbled. _Shit, not even the Sharingan can see if I don't choose to look...he's a better strategist than I thought_. Sasuke backflipped over another shruiken. _But I won't be defeated so easily_!

Sasuke flipped the switch on his chakra, letting it out in bits and pieces. "You almost beat me with that kunai, Shikimaru. If you had hit near a vital I would have been declared unable to continue. But even if you had hit me near my lungs I still would have defeated you before passing out." Sasuke reached towards the heavens. "You hear that, Shikimaru? It's lightning."

"I don't have to be a master tactician to use my senses you idiot," Shikimaru said, rolling his eyes.

"How odd. I was just thinking about the fact that you are not one. Because that sound symbolizes my victory!" Sasuke crowed as the lightning struck his chakra enveloped hand. It absorbed the crackling, pure-white energy. "This jutsu' power source is lightning from heaven itself."

A pause.

"I call this technique," Sasuke stated, "...Kirin."

A snowy-white jaw crammed with pointy, razor-sharp teeth were the first parts of the jutsu to appear. Then a snout and whiskers loomed out of the darkened clouds, lighting up the surrounding sky. The dragon of lightning parted the cloud cover entirely.

Shikimaru felt his jaw drop.

The humongous jutsu bore down on Shukimaru. Right before it struck he smiled.

And disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke walked over.

He bent down to try and pull Shikimaru's remains out of the huge piles of ash. Finding nothing at first, Sasuke began to search more frantically. Eventually he grew extremely concerned and scoured pile of ash after pile of ash. _There's...nothing here. But I was sure my Jutsu struck him, and if it did-_

" -he's dead for sure?" Shikimaru finished mockingly.

Sasuke turned and stared at Shikimaru. "How? That was my strongest technique!"

"Ever heard of shadow clones...?"

Sasuke nodded.

"I used those. My chakra is almost completely gone now. I have enough juice in me for one more jutsu at most. But I have to admit that this was satisfying..." Shikimaru smiled broadly. "Also, only dumbasses have ever fallen for that trick of mine!"

Sasuke lunged without thinking.

Now! Shikimaru made the hand signs and yelled, "Fuuton! Ashinaki no Jutsu!" He inhaled deeply, then exhaled air amplified by chakra.

The light bomb went off just as Sasuke tripped on the wire. Sasuke was in the air, blinded and helpless.

"It's over Sasuke! Kagemane no Jutsu!"

The shadow erupted out of the ground by Shikimaru's feet and seized control of Sasuke.

Shikimaru, enjoying himself, danced a small, uncomplicated jig. Sasuke could only look on in dismay. "How did you manage to do- ?"

Shikimaru smiled. "When you avoided my Shadow Imitation Jutsu, I knew I wouldn't be able to use it again unless I disabled your sharingan. But how should I go about doing it is what I asked myself." Shikimaru ruffled Sasuke's hair lovingly. "I planted a wire after throwing that giant shruiken when our fight first started."

Sasuke's eyes widened in realization.

Shikimaru continued, "And that burst of light you saw came from the light bomb, which I dropped in a patch of grass. The wind jutsu I cast blew away the grass, uncovering the bomb. This way I could render the Sharingan useless by taking away two of your senses: touch and sight. After all, the Uchiha clan became the strongest clan in Konoha overall because of their insanely powerful ocular jutsu. They were considered unstoppable. But there's one problem with this Sharingan of yours that stuck-up Uchiha haven't realized at all...it is akin to that Greek myth involving the seer Phineas. He was blinded because he saw too much. The gods cursed him for it. You saw too much of the light, kid. Lament your fate - lament your curse, for it was your downfall, Uchiha Sasuke!" Shikimaru propelled a kunai downwards, and it sunk into Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke slumped over, dead.

Shikimaru walked away and had one foot on the steps when the voice spoke.

"Where are you going, you son of a bitch? We aren't done yet. I will have to teach you that the concept of hell on earth is not just a product of someone's imagination!"

Now it was Shikimaru's turn to look appalled, and he stammered, "Your cha...your chakra vanished. This is impossible!?"

Sasuke, initially lying on the cold, hard ground, seemingly as a corpse, laughed.

"I would have died if not for this."

The air shimmered before flaring up into a fiery purple aura.

A skull materialized five feet above Sasuke's sweaty scalp.

A rib cage and arms followed soon after, hovering in the air.

Then wire-like pieces of flesh writhed and shook, before finally weaving together into a thin net over the bones, closing the gaps.

The flesh hardened as the thing's eyes glowed.

An outer shell engulfed its entire form.

Shikimaru tripped and fell backwards, the back of his head landing.

The outer shell of the thing radiated hostility. Teeth sharp enough to slice a fly in half filled the mouth of the thing, and a gem was enlaid in its forehead. Hair was formed on its head by purple flames. The heat felt like it would fry Shikimaru's face off. Shikimaru thought, _No! Now I cant look good for Sakura. Wait what am I saying no one likes Sakura_. Shikimaru shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. _If I don't focus...he might actually kill me on accident_. "W- what...w-w-what is that?"

Sasuke smiled. "Ocular Jutsu."

Shikimaru winced at the jibe.

"And it's name is - **Susano'o**!"

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3 - Ichigo vs Neji

**_Reply to Guest - It's reviews like yours that keep me going. I really appreciate you and what you do. For other stories that I write I always think, oh this is going to be really good, lots of people will like this and/or review it. And then there's like a single review after 24 hours. Just know that when I write, I am thinking about you - whenever I'm running low on ideas for what to publish, I think about your comments and push through my writer's block. You rock haha. Thanks for all the support!_**

 ** _Reply to username Disappointed - I have to say, you took what I wrote way too seriously. I'm a little disappointed that out of a 3k word story, you only commented on a single paragraph of around 100 words. Im also disappointed that you are such a pretentious prick. Anime is a very small part of my life. The fact that you made a guest account just to defend a "hand-drawn character" proves that you care a little too much about anime son. Just saying._**

A row of glowing, purple balls of fire sparked into being in front of them. Sasuke smiled. _I will enjoy injuring this man who had the gall to make fun of me!_

Then Shikimaru knocked himself out with the flat part of his kunai.

Anko leaped in front of Shikimaru's sprawled body and proclaimed, "The match is over! Shikimaru is unable to move so he can no longer continue. The battle has been won by Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke shook with barely concealed anger, then stalked off the field. Susano'o flickered for a moment, pushing its energy back in, and winked out of existence immediately after.

Anko fished in the bowl before finally coming up for air.

She spoke. "Hyuga Neji...and Ichigo Kurosaki."

-–-

Neji adjusted the bandages on his arm, wrapping them tighter.

Ichigo did likewise by straightening the Hidden Leaf village headband encircling his skull.

Neji smirked.

"What?" Ichigo said, pissed.

"It's just that you look so...unrefined. What's with your clothes you ape?"

Ichigo stood tall in a traditional white collared t-shirt and blue jeans. No words came at first. Then he cracked his knuckles and replied, "You are wearing a fucking white turtleneck. You saying that's going to save your ass in this fight? Fists are never fancy...rich boy."

"Begin!" Anko yelled.

Ichigo barreled forward. Neji casually flicked a punch in Ichigo's direction, confident it would hit its target. Ichigo slid underneath it like a pro baseball player, coming up behind Neji, then struck his adversary in the back of head. Neji stumbled forward before suffering a right hook from Ichigo again, which sent him crashing into the topsoil of the ground. He slid a few feet before coming to a stop. Ichigo jumped, executing a headlock when he landed next to the member of the Hyuga clan.

Neji could not contain his rage. _I, one of the most powerful of my clan, one who was named a genius at the tender age of two years old - I am losing?! No, no calm down. I must first prevent him from using chakra._

Neji went for the chakra opening directly in front of his eyes, which just so happened to be near Ichigo's crotch.

Ichigo looked down at where Neji's hand was and then immediately scrambled away, yelling, "What the heck man? This is a fight not a lover's spat!"

Neji took this the wrong way. "You attempt to insinuate that I am gay? I am straight you fool! I shall make you regret this slander, for it is over. You are within the field of my Hakkeshou Kaiten."

Neji leaned forward with legs spread apart. His arms stretched, one pointing downwards and the other pointing to the sky. He closed his eyes and waited for his chakra to gather, which then accumulated like water in a boiling kettle, resulting in smoke billowing from where Neji was standing.

He opened his eyes and the veins surrounding them popped out. _Byakugan_!

Ichigo lost sight of Neji, and attempted to peer through the vast dust cloud, yet saw nothing.

Before it started all he heard was the words: "Gentle Fist Style - 64 Hands of Hakke."

That was when Neji sprung out of the clouds and dove towards Ichigo. Ichigo could not react at the speed, even when Neji skidded to a halt and yelled, "Hakke! Two Hands!"

Neji jabbed Ichigo twice.

He stumbled.

"Hakke! Four Hands!"

Ichigo felt all four of Neji's attacks reverberate through his skull.

"Eight Hands!"

Ichigo was pushed back again by the barrage of blows.

"Sixteen Hands!"

Neji's hands curled then struck, curled then struck.

"Thirty-two Hands!"

Ichigo spat blood. His lungs could feel the damage.

Neji paused, then rushed at Ichigo while howling, "Hakke! Sixty-four Hands!" Ichigo flew back and smashed into the wall behind him.

The Hyuga clan member beamed, his creamy white pupils gleaming with glee. _My victory is assured, there is no way he can even use his chakra anymore. And if he attempts to fight with kunai, my absolutely impenetrable defense shall stop that tactic easily. This is only natural. I am a genius after all._

Clouds of dust, disturbed by Ichigo's landing, had finally dissipated. The orange-haired teenager was gone. Neji blinked. When he opened his eyes, he could see Ichigo behind him through the Baykugan, lunging towards him. Neji gasped despite his prideful nature, spinning around but knowing, _I won't be able to defend in time, he's too fast!_

Suddenly Ichigo disappeared in a flash. Neji could have sworn he saw some kind of doll before it flew out of his sight.

Around thirty yards away Anko finally dropped the previously squirming Ichigo Kurosaki. Ichigo yelped at the abrupt fall, shouting, "What the hell, I was about to murder him! This match doesn't count anymore you- "

"Kurosaki," Anko lectured, "I thought you were told that only weapons such as kunai and shruiken were allowed. _Not_ Zanpakuto. Or have you forgotten the talk you were given?" To everyone else, she announced, "Ichigo Kurosaki has been disqualified from further participation in the Chunin Exams."

 ** _Sorry for the short chapter this week. I'm saving my creative energy for the Naruto vs. Sasuke fight coming up and Ichigo's TRUE debut happening soon ;) I'm coming back with the more intelligent fights next week so stay tuned._**


	4. Chapter 4 -Naruto vs Sasuke

**_Enjoy the chapter this week_**!

"...and now the moment you've all been waiting for. We've had disqualifications, breakdowns, and ninja fights that broke down into two children screaming in each other's faces."

Kiba flushed a dark red as he glared at Choji, who was nonchalantly chowing down on potato chips.

"But we've finally reached the climax. And whatta' you know, it's the two brats I hate the most- "

The Hokage cleared his throat.

"I mean wonderful children...Uzimaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke! Don't kill each other now." That last part was announced in a cheerful manner, but the callous look on Anko's face made it clear she would have no qualms killing them herself.

"Now...begin!" Anko said.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Vapor materialized out of thin air before drifting away, revealing two human figures. The clouds of smoke billowed away. Two identical Naruto look-a likes stood next to him, standing resolute in orange jackets and blue sandals, staring down Sasuke.

"You didn't strike me to the studious type, Naruto. But to be able to use a Jutsu of that caliber...perhaps I underestimated you." Sasuke combed his hair, attempting to appear uncaring.

Anko could sense a slight tremble of anticipation in his figure despite the act.

Three black commas danced on his pupils before forming the week-known sharingan. Sasuke cast off his cape. It fluttered to the ground like a leaf upon the wind.

"But that still won't help you win against me!" Sasuke shot forward, unsheathing his sword and brandishing it.

One of Naruto's shadow clones had been tensed up, its entire body coiled like a spring.

The instant Sasuke moved, it leapt onto the other clone's back and was propelled when its fellow clone stood up abruptly. The first clone soared through the air, arms and legs flailing, until its hands joined together and formed hand seals.

Another shadow clone sprang into being. Still in midair, the shadow clone grasped its creator by the ankles, holding on tightly, before throwing it towards Sasuke, increasing acceleration.

Sasuke's sharingan perceived an object darting through the wind and falling, heading straight for him, and his sword deflected the kunai before his mind caught up.

The shadow clone attempted to stab again. Sasuke blocked, but as he did, sparks flying, the other duplicate landed. Sasuke pushed away the one he had been fighting and then attempted to slash the newly arrived double. His blade sunk into the shadow clone he had intercepted first. The clone grinned, before wrapping the member of the Uchiha clan in a suffocating bear hug.

Naruto's uninjured look-alike gave some sort of signal to Naruto before it dropped the smoke bomb.

Sasuke's sight was obscured. Lightning gathered around his palm before spraying the clones in front of him with a pepper of chakra bullets.

Meanwhile, upon seeing the signal, Naruto picked up his shadow clone that had stayed behind and caused it to hurtle through the air with a flick of the wrist.

Sasuke strained to see through the chemicals in the smoke bomb, his head tilting to look behind him. A hand parted the air, then the entire Naruto double emerged, punching Sasuke in the chest.

Sasuke clutched his heart, having not expected a frontal attack after the previous one had failed.

"Rasengan!"

Sasuke had no idea what was going on. _I disposed of all the other clones, the only other is in front of me...wait! The original still exists!_

This realization hit him an instant before Naruto's Jutsu did.

A sphere formed through hardened chakra and shrunken down into a fist-sized ball of destructive energy collided fully with Sasuke's back. Sasuke coughed up blood while thinking, _He attacked me from the front twice to take my mind off of flanking or sneak attacks. Is this seemingly stupid kid actually as smart as Shikimaru!?_ Uchiha Sasuke almost collapsed, but broke his fall with his knee. _I can't give up now. If I don't defeat even this dumbass...how can I defeat Itachi!?_

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hair from behind. His fingers slipped through individual hairs, allowing him to get a good grip. Naruto slammed Sasuke's head to the ground.

Sasuke bucked, knocking Naruto off balance. Seizing his chance, Sasuke jabbed an elbow into Naruto's side, and when Naruto backed off, kicked the Uzimaki clan member in the jaw. Hands clapped together to form signs, and Sasuke yelled out, "Housenka no Jutsu!"

Flames hot enough to turn nearby leaves to crisps changed into a fiery, mythical Phoenix of legend and roared into Naruto's face. Naruto scampered away, just barely dodging.

Naruto turned, kunai in hand, only to nearly be speared by Sasuke's chidori.

 _Gotta' retreat_!

Uzimaki Naruto turned tail and jumped, feet hitting against the concrete wall. Naruto began running up the wall, faster than the wind in his attempt to avoid injury.

"You coward!" Sasuke shouted, the words he uttered echoing in Naruto's ears.

He chased after Naruto by gliding with his curse mark. "Unlike a true ninja, who at times, must indulge in a tactical retreat, you are just plain old running away. And you are the least talented ninja I've ever seen! The only Jutsu you know how to use is the fucking shadow clone Jutsu. How much longer are you going to disrespect the 4th Hokage this way, eh, Uzimaki Naruto...son of Minato!"

Naruto almost released the chakra he had been sending to his feet. _How does he know all that_?

Sasuke must have seen the expression on his face changed, because he summed up the jinchuriki's thoughts perfectly. "You must be thinking..how the fuck does he do that? Well, I know this as a result of my time with Uchiha Itachi, my elder brother!"

 _Elder brother_? Naruto gasped.

"And also my soon-to-be-husband- "

Sakura cheered.

"That was a joke by the way. Only idiots would think that would become a reality," Sasuke continued.

Sakura frowned.

"Anyway, as I was saying, my brother was an ex-Anbu agent, so he was well informed of the inner mechanisms driving this village of Konoha."

The Hokage face-palmed. _Leave it to Itachi to tell the secrets of the second-most important and powerful nation of the Ninja world to a middle-schooler._

"And what he found was that you, Uzimaki Naruto, are not only the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, or Kyuubi, but that you are a spy for a foreign nation known only as...the Soul Society!"

Naruto stopped running.

Sasuke laughed. "What? Tired of being the bitch of the village? Is what I said actually true, are you a spy who is trying to launch an attack on the Soul Society!?"

The Hokage's eyebrows had been rising during the conversation, but at the mention of the Soul Society he became angry. _Who the hell told Itachi about the Soul Society! That's a secret passed down from Hokage to Hokage, no one else is supposed to know about that. Not only that but it's impossible for Naruto to be the spy, I already had sneaking suspicions about a spy, and it's definitely not Naruto._ Then Sasuke smirked when he thought no one was looking and Sarutobi understood. _He knows it isn't Naruto. But he's hoping to ostracize Naruto even further by getting the village into thinking that Naruto will betray them! Don't let this get to you...Naruto_!

Naruto's fists clenched.

Sasuke paused. "You hear that?" Sasuke cupped his ear. "It's the people of Konoha talking about how they knew it all along. I mean you ARE pretty suspicious."

Kakashi could hear the whispering. Next to him a jonin said, "I always thought Naruto was weird as fuck and now he's a spy? Why is he still in the- "

Kakashi slammed the back of his hand into the jonin' cheek, knocking him unconscious. The jonin' friends all had shocked looks on their faces, but Kakashi was only thinking about Naruto: _If Sasuke uses subterfuge like this to get you to admit defeat...you can't call yourself a ninja anymore, Naruto!_ Kakashi got up and almost leapt onto the field when Asuma caught him by the arm.

"Let go of me!" Kakashi ordered. "I'm going to murder that little punk- "

"Sit down Kakashi," Asuma admonished, pulling gently.

"Why should I? All of Sasuke's allegations are just ridiculous!"

"If you take a look at Naruto...you will see that he has enough rage for an entire village's worth."

Kakashi didn't believe him, and the look on his face showed that. Then he examined Asuma more closely, peering into his eyes, in an attempt to gauge Asuma's emotions, and decide whether or not he was joking. He saw the sweat pouring down from Asuma's spiked-up hair.

Then he realized that he had been sweating as well. Forgetting his fury for a moment, Kakashi wondered, _Why am I sweating...? I haven't been nervous enough to do that in a decade!_

Kakashi found his answer in Naruto's tense form.

Fists clenched, Naruto shook, not even trying to contain his complete and utter rage.

Naruto's blue pupils glistened, dilating, and as they did, the lens of his eyes shrunk into a minuscule black spot.

Then it rapidly expanded, and as Naruto's eyes warped into unrecognizable slits, a presence seemed to enter the stadium, and the air thickened into a viscous-feeling soup.

The air started to solidify, gathering in a cloud around that vaguely resembled...

"Tails..." Breathed Kakashi. "The chakra around Naruto is transforming into tails!"

Naruto roared, "Sasuke! You bastard, Sasuke!"

Inside Naruto smiled. _Hey Kurama, imma' need some of your power, okay_?

It only shifted its position behind the gate. Then it asked, _Why are you pretending to be so mad_?

Naruto didn't answer.

Kurama snorted.

Naruto felt a surge of chakra, filling up with it like a bottle overflowing with water.

Sasuke had been continuing his tirade despite visibly shaking in his sandals, " -and also, the only Jutsu you know is the one for creating shadow clones! Why don't you get yourself a new resume, you fag!"

Naruto actually became angry. "You bastard..."

Hand seals flowed as Naruto's fingers flashed, stringing together their signs. Then the member of the Uzimaki clan bit his thumb, drawing blood.

Sasuke gasped, recognizing the sequence of moves. "Is this...your trump card?!"

Naruto slapped the ground with both hands, palms down. Seals grew on the soil, spreading out as inky black marks. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The smoke cleared. A ram, its horns touching the ceiling, overshadowed Sasuke with its huge bulk. It tilted its head downwards slightly, then charged.

Sasuke stood for a second, mouth wide open, before he shook his head and readied himself. "Shunshin no Jutsu!"

His body flickered, before disappearing from the ram's sight.

"Gamaramu, above you!" Naruto's voice echoed.

The ram slowly swiped up with its horns, clashing with Sasuke's sword. The force of the blow blew Sasuke back, causing Sasuke to activate his curse mark. Musty grey, crinkly wings sprung into existence, catching on the wind, allowing the Uchiha to glide to the floor.

"Suiton - Suishouha!" Naruto uttered.

Sasuke's sharingan alerted him to the fact that the Jutsu was a high-level and could potentially injure him with its damage. _How does Naruto keep using these taxing attacks?! No matter, I simply have to prevent him from casting the Jutsu_! Sasuke sprinted towards Naruto, seemingly skipping across the field because of his speed.

 _He's fast_! Naruto exclaimed internally. _But_...

Gamaramu cut in front of Sasuke, who backed away, barely avoiding being sliced up by the gigantic ram's horns.

Naruto finished executing the hand signals. A large volume of water popped out of nowhere.

Naruto directed it at the wall behind himself, before quickly utilizing an earth Jutsu to create a wooden surfboard. The water bounced off the wall and gave Naruto time to cast the earth Jutsu, before crashing into the yellow-haired ninja.

Once the water hit the ram, it burst into smoke and dissipated.

 _He sacrificed such a formidable Jutsu to ensure that I could not interrupt this water style Jutsu of his! Surely this Jutsu must be the key to his victory, but how?_

Sasuke contemplated running as the wave of water headed his way, with Naruto on top, but stood his ground. Electricity insulated his hand, crackling and chirping like a thousand birds. Then he thrust forward, and chidori split the wave in half, before dispersing throughout the water.

Naruto jumped off the board to avoid any chance of electrocution.

The Jutsu harmlessly spilled past Sasuke, soaking the ground.

"Was that supposed to kill me, Uzimaki Naruto?!" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto threw his clone at Sasuke, which punched Sasuke once before throwing its original at the Uchiha. Naruto shaved off some of Sasuke's hair with a kunai before slinging his double at Sasuke.

The flow of the battle moved away from their previous location and more to the edge of the wall.

The fifth time the tag-team gambit was executed, Sasuke blocked and counter attacked. Susano'o appeared, bashing both Naruto and his double, destroying the shadow clone completely.

Naruto lay in the dirt a couple yards from Sasuke, his head ringing. The previous anger from before had faded away like summer.

Sasuke's voice said, "You haven't answered my question: was that supposed to kill me?"

A puddle beside Naruto reminded him of his fallacy - he thought his plan was deep, but it was actually shallow as a puddle.

A tear dropped from Naruto's cheek.

 _I don't want to lose_! A shadow clone came into being in a second and was destroyed by Sasuke just as fast.

"That's the only answer I need," Sasuke laughed, strutting forward with the audacity of a bright pink flamingo, his sword carelessly being spun around. "This is my victory."

Naruto's expression melted away, and instead was replaced by the smile of a young child at Christmas. "You read my mind!"

The moment the back of Sasuke's blade struck, Naruto bit onto it, his teeth clamping down, before he weaved hand seals.

Sasuke tried to move, but his arm was stuck in place.

The puddle behind the member of the Uchiha clan morphed. A face identical to Naruto's was slowly transformed from water into apparent flesh.

Naruto shook his head, and the tears Sasuke took for sadness were actually tears of mirth. The water clone spoke for Naruto. "You fell into my trap. I drew you to this part of the field, as it was filled with puddles."

"The tidal wave wasn't meant for me..." Sasuke realized.

"Yes. It was so the current situation could occur," Naruto explained patiently. "It was so I could win!"

The water clone and the shadow clone it had conjured up reached for the Nine Tails chakra within Naruto once again. A sphere of pure chakra was generated, and wisps of chakra spiraled away.

"Rasengan!"

IIIIIIIIII

The Hokage of the Sand village and one of the Anbu agents stared at each other.

Kabuto took off his mask and signaled.

The Hokage of the Sand Village gave a slight nod.

IIIIIIIIII

Both Hokage of the Sand and Hidden Leaf villages stood by Anko as she announced, "We will be holding the ceremony celebrating those who have passed the Chunin exams."

Then she stabbed the Hokage from the Sand village in the heart. "At least, that's what I would say if I was actually Anko. Unfortunately, my true name is Orochimaru..." Anko licked her lips. "And I have come to destroy both Konoha and the Soul Society."

End of Chapter 4

 ** _I'm sure you are wondering...wtf were those last two paragraphs? To that, my response would be: read the next chapter to find out hehe_**.


	5. Reaper's Ascension

Before the Chunin Exams

 _"Don't unleash it unless you believe you are in danger of dying. And even then, control its power. Don't kill anyone, you upstart, or I swear..."_

During Ichigo's fight

"He's a little underwhelming."

"Hmm?" Might Guy murmured as he picked out a steaming hot plate of tempura from a stand inside the stadium.

"That transfer student has a crazy amount of power and chakra, but he doesn't act like any conventional ninjas...how does he expect to win with such weak strategic abilities?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

Before the Chunin Exams

 _"Don't unleash it unless you believe you are in danger of dying. And even then, control its power. Don't kill anyone, you upstart, or I swear, I will make you regret it..._ **Ichigo**.

After the Chunin Exams

Both Hokage of the Sand and Hidden Leaf villages stood by Anko as she announced, "We will be holding the ceremony celebrating those who have passed the Chunin exams."

Then she stabbed the Hokage from the Sand village in the heart.

Before the Chunin Exams

 _"I don't know if you noticed, but your bankai has potential. It has the potential to rule over all other powers in speed, in agility, in strength. When I fought your father he easily beat me."_

 _Ichigo quietly asked, "Is bankai really so strong? Is it really strong enough to overwhelm a hokage?"_

After the Chunin Exams

"At least, that's what I would say if I was actually Anko. Unfortunately, my true name is Orochimaru..." Anko licked her lips. "And I have come to destroy both Konoha and the Soul Society."

Before the Chunin Exams

 _The Third Hokage retorted, "Bankai? Hah! Your father didn't need such a godlike power. He only utilized his Shikai!"_

Now

One of the slumped over bodies twitched. It took all of Kakashi's strength just to open his eye. _What is with this genjutsu?! It's powerful enough to incapacitate a jonin level ninja..._

Kakashi looked around.

Both Sakura and Naruto had been knocked out cold, along with all the other participants.

Bodies were strewn everywhere, propped up against walls and ledges. A low sound reverberated throughout Kakashi's being. He leaned forward, ears straining for any further clues that might point to what was happening. The sound grew softer. _It's almost as if it's...behind me..._

As he thought that, the snores stopped and the orange haired boy Kakashi had collapsed onto woke up, pushing Kakashi off himself. The Mirror Ninja landed on his back.

He looked and saw the transfer student stretch, bones creaking and cracking, like a well-oiled machine raring to go.

Kakashi looked on, his mouth wide open. _How can he move? This genjutsu was cast by one of the legendary three, Orochimaru, heralded as a genius and the strongest ninja aside from Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Kages_.

"Oi, Ichigo."

What is it? I'm kind of tired from my fight with Neji."

The raspy voice snorted. "You didn't even try against him. What are you talking about...? Let me fight Orochimaru."

Ichigo yawned, his calloused hand covering his mouth. "Who the hell is that?"

"The guy who wants to destroy the Soul Society."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, and his reiatsu seeped out, cracking the concrete floor.

Kakashi could only watch in awe. _He's crazy...he talks to himself and wants to fight Orochimaru? What an idiot. But what's up with his chakra...it's so rough and heavy..._ A boom of thunder interrupted Kakashi's thoughts.

Bright orange hair stood on end, crackling with static electricity. Clouds swelled and undulated like a unrelenting sea of power, before gathering around Ichigo and solidifying into pure reiatsu. It pulsed out in short, commanding bursts of energy.

The waves of reiatsu broke pieces of the wall off, and they fell, shattering upon contact with the cold floor.

Orochimaru could feel the sudden surge of dominant chakra.

"Ichigo Kurosaki!" Orochimaru bellowed, "What's wrong? Are you mad because you can't find this?" Orochimaru brandished a yellow plushy. It had whiskers drawn onto its face and a fake mane of 'hair.'

Kon dangled from Orochimaru's hand.

Kakashi looked at Ichigo's face, trying to gauge his reaction as he nudged the eyepatch off.

Then Ichigo disappeared.

Kakashi blinked. _It's not that the sharingan wasn't activated, and that's why I couldn't see him. He was just so fast that his movements didn't register_! Kakashi started. _Wait. Since when was that entire section of wall missing_?

Ichigo was behind Orochimaru in a blink of an eye. "Are you the one...who said you would destroy the Soul Society?! And why do you seem to think I can't fight without my soul reaper powers? Who told you about them?"

"You talk too much!" Orochimaru whirled around, snakes whipping in a flash. Ichigo took the brunt of the attack with the wall he ripped out of the stands, then smashed the rest into Orochimaru.

Orochimaru skipped across the stadium like a rock, blood peppering the ground with every bound as his body careened around the field.

Kakashi got to his feet at the sound of Orochimaru crashing into a wall, peering through the broken wall towards the scene below.

Ichigo picked up Kon.

He brushed the dust off the plushy and poked it to wake Kon up.

Only to have his face punched in by Orochimaru. Ichigo rebounded downwards, buried into the ground by the force of Orochimaru's physical strength.

Orochimaru smiled, even as half of his face peeled off as if it was a bad case of sun tan. The splotches of dried blood on his face hinted otherwise. Another face lay underneath Orochimaru's current one, which uttered the words, "I was told by the same person who sent you...but I'm sorry. I won't let you obtain your goal."

Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke all woke up.

The Third Hokage had been observing wordlessly throughout Ichigo's confrontation of Orochimaru. The three kunai held at his throat stalled him in one place.

Orochimaru walked over to Sarutobi. His arm reared back as if to strike.

Sasuke dropped down from the stands, then bolted towards the Hokage, almost stepping onto a fallen Ichigo in the process. He caught Orochimaru's arm in a hold, and his chakra formed around his feet, attaching him to the ground. Orochimaru lifted him, breaking Sasuke's hold on his own chakra, and threw him up in the air.

Sasuke landed, spitting blood before blacking out.

The legendary ninja, master of snakes, grabbed the Hokage again and prepared his snakes to feed.

Just as their fangs bit into Sarutobi's skin, Neji and Naruto both landed on either side of Orochimaru, landing kicks on his sides. His body bruised, Orochimaru angled his body away, avoiding a further barrage, then jumped up, completely dodging the attacks that followed.

As he came down, his sandal-covered feet busted their heads. Both fell, eyes staring off into nothing.

"You are a monster," Ichigo said as he revived, dirt and pieces of the ground falling off him and drifting to the ground like snowflakes.

Orochimaru laughed without looking back. "You aren't even better than Naruto. At least that trash has the Nine Tails...what do you have?"

A surge in reiatsu darkened the entire stadium. Kakashi felt goosebumps rise up on his skin.

"I may not have much now. But when someone treats people I've fought like they amount to nothing...I just can't sit around twiddling my thumbs."

 _"Don't unleash it unless you believe you are in danger of dying. And even then, control its power. Don't kill anyone, you upstart, or I swear, I will make you regret it Ichigo. I don't know if you noticed, but your bankai has potential. It has the potential to rule over all other powers in speed, in agility, in strength. When I fought your father he easily beat me."_

 _Ichigo: "Is bankai really so strong?"_

 _Hokage: "Bankai? Hah! Your father didn't need such a godlike power. He only utilized his Shikai."_

Energy spiraled around him, pulsing.

Ichigo was clad in a black robe with a red rope corded around his sturdy chest, and his forearms strained with the weight of the five foot long black-and-white zanpakuto he held.

A ribbon curled off it. The pulsing of the reiatsu increased steadily, until it was beating as fast as a nervous heart. The ribbon wrapped around Ichigo.

The steam flowed outward, blowing the hair of the unconscious Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji. Orochimaru's took a step forward to steady his shivering body. The pure power Ichigo was emitting was overwhelming.

Then the words came: " ** _Ban...Kai_**!"


	6. Chapter 6 - Ichigo vs Orochimaru

During Ichigo and Orochimaru's Fight

"Someone shut Jidanbo up with a loaf of bread or something."

"Woah Kimimaro, I'm the one who usually bags on that portly 'ninja,' " Tayuya exclaimed. She shifted her weight on Choza Akimichi.

"But one of those ninjas that tried to interrupt Lord Orochimaru is even fatter than you!" The female member of the Sound Four couldn't keep her laughter in, and she fell off of Choji's father and started rolling on the floor which was slick with blood.

Jidanbo grunted, before taking his weight off of Asuma and getting to his feet. "Let's see if our master requires assistance."

The Sound Four vanished, leaving blood and bodies in their wake.

IIIIIIIIII

The four subordinates of Orochimaru skidded to a halt next to Kabuto.

"What has the next commander of Konoha ordered?" Kimimaro asked seriously, all four arms fidgeting.

"He wishes for the barrier to be set up. Lord Orochimaru is currently engaging the single threat to our plan - Ichigo Kurosaki."

Now

Orochimaru licked his lips in anticipation. They were rapidly cracking from the pressure of Ichigo's reiatsu. His eyes glanced over to the outside of the stadium, checking to make sure that the barrier was in place, then, seeing that it was, refocused on the orange-haired Shinigami.

" ** _Ban...Kai_**!"

The reiatsu was so concrete that when it came into contact with the air, friction occurred and sparks fizzed.

The power that had rendered Anbu agents helpless all circulated in a single location around Ichigo, then spiraled outwards in a single blast, blowing away leaves and the bodies of Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke.

The barrier held for a moment.

The Sound Four were all straining and pouring their chakra into it to reinforce against the sudden exponential jump in strength, but it was all in vain. The instant they let up out of exhaustion, it shattered. The force of the blast reached until the farthest parts of Konoha and dented the faraway monument to all Hokage.

Orochimaru fell to his knees.

Shards of the barrier trickled down from the reddening sky, specks and spots of chakra falling.

The mist that had been twisting around Ichigo finally dispersed. The black blade shivered in the wind, but the self-proclaimed Lord of Konoha fancied that it was calling for blood. He blinked, only to find himself not looking at the Shinigami anymore.

A breath disturbed the hairs on his neck.

Orochimaru front-flipped forward, executing a 360 degree turn, then landed.

Ichigo breathed on him again from behind to make him aware of the subsequent assault, then attacked.

Kabuto intercepted his blow, hands enveloped in a sparkling aura that could barely be seen with the naked eye. The blue chakra colored like the sea had allowed Kabuto to grasp the sharp-edged blade that could cut a hair if one fell on it. The boy backhanded Kabuto away.

Ichigo strided over to Orochimaru. His black robe dragged along the ground.

Rasp, rasp.

That sound of cloth against the ground came closer and closer until the rasping stopped entirely. Orochimaru looked up into Ichigo's eyes, then closed his own. I guess my time has come. _This fucking blows, but I guess my human experiments have to gon hiatus. Just like Hunter x Hunter..._

A whish was heard. Nothing after.

Orochimaru carefully let one eyelid up. _Maybe he's trying to enjoy the kill_.

Instead what he saw was Kabuto Yakushi saving his life.

Ichigo's zanpakuto hovered inches away from splitting Orochimaru's skull. Kabuto's curled hands had been attached to Ichigo's neck, and when they dropped to his sides and stopped moving, his mouth did the opposite. "Lord Orochimaru...please get up. Wasn't it your dream to gain immortality? Well now you are so incredibly close...but you are just going to throw away many years and years and years of work and experimental procedures for some random, weird-looking ninja? And you!" Kabuto directed his attention toward the orange haired teen. "I've closed all your chakra points. You shouldn't be able to move or use chakra anymore. We've got you!"

The Sound Four closed in on their lord's attacker.

Ichigo smiled indulgingly. Pressure in the stadium dropped.

Then the Sound Four felt a tremendous amount of relief as the burden on them disappeared.

Tayuya was the first to realize something was wrong. "Wait where did that carrot-top go- " She stopped midway. Blood spewed out of her in a huge geyser, dousing the ground in red for yards. The other three fell soon after, eyes blank, unaware of what had transpired.

Ichigo flicked the gore off his sword.

Orochimaru didn't know what to say. _He instantly got past them and sliced all four in the span of a second. How could he even move? Not only that, but his speed has increased a ridiculous amount!_ Orochimaru stroked his chin hurriedly. _He...wanted us to think he was totally immobile as to catch us off guard. To think that Shinigami did not use chakra!_

Kabuto dashed towards Ichigo. "Get away master! You cannot die now, you are the future ruler of Konoha! Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A giant crab materialized into existence.

Orochimaru ran as he looked behind himself. _Kabuto has been training on his own time in addition to spying for me? Impressive. Perhaps he can take out this reaper of souls_.

Kabuto grinned at the sight. His master was safe. "I shall buy time and be after you soon! Fighting someone of such low power and skill is not fit for the man who will conquer Konoha - and then the world!"

The crab's pincer flew at Ichigo.

Who flash-stepped around it and sliced both the crustacean and Kabuto in two equally large pieces.

Orochimaru picked up the pace, his sandals barely touched the ground and his legs blurred together in his haste.

Ichigo hurled his sword.

Zangetsu sliced through the air.

Orochimaru jumped.

His toes felt a breeze from below, and he looked down only to see a sword lodged in the ground beneath him. Ichigo flash stepped again, appearing in front of the ninja renowned throughout the nations for his ability and odd nature, Orochimaru, who snarled in delight, and then clapped his hands together into hand seals, springing his trap.

He dissolved into a horde of snakes, which all fell to the ground in a slimy, shiny scaled mess of writhing objects. The true Orochimaru burst out of the ground, mouth unhinged and something shiny shoved deep inside.

He ambushed Ichigo and thrust the legendary blade Kusanagi into Ichigo Kurosaki's back.

Orochimaru could not quite see Ichigo's wound, but he imagined it as a large, gaping hole with droplets of blood sliding down.

He backed off to see for himself.

And not a scratch was there.

No.

In actuality, he saw a small butcher knife held by Ichigo's hand. Orochimaru realized this at that moment in time: Ichigo Kurosaki had blocked a hit from a blade sharp enough to cut through twenty stacks of paper and even chakra, the fabled Kusanagi, which the storybooks said could penetrate a iron replica of the Great Wall of China. With a piece of metal about as big as a kitchen knife and seemingly as sharp as one designed to cut butter.

Without even looking.

"I knew that was coming. Because of our mutual friend. But I didn't know you would be so weak," Ichigo snorted. "Guess it's not a big deal considering the blades I wield, the dual Zangetsu."

"How...?" Orochimaru stammered, fully aware his life could end if he fought this beast of a man.

Ichigo laughed in a sarcastic manner.

The sleeves of his black robes had been blown clean off from the battle.

He held an oversized, untarnished cleaver with a hollowed out middle portion in his right hand and a blade about half the other's side that was akin to a butcher knife, equipped with a handle built into the blade and a heavily sculpted pommel.

His hair changed hues in the sunset and glowed fiery red as a result.

Reiatsu made the air shimmer.

Ichigo's bankai was awe-inspiring, and the raw power poured out of Ichigo like an overflowing bath.

"You see, the Kusanagi is indeed a famous blade. But not as the famous as the two of mine combined. This little one is associated with my Quincy abilities, and the other, my Hollow and Shinigami abilities. I call them both Zangetsu. But their true names give them more power. The former is called Joyeuse. The latter is called Goujian." Ichigo grinned. "I initially thought Joyeuse was Juha Bach. But have you ever heard of Charlemagne?"

Orochimaru had not.

"Hm. Charlemagne was one of the greatest rulers in world history. He was king of the Franks, and the father of two entire nations - Germany and Europe. He was also the first Holy Roman Emperor. How did he manage all of this you ask?" Ichigo took a breath. "You could say he was a prototype to the product that would come along many years later, for he was a former Quincy...and _Juha Bach's grandfather._ "


	7. Chapter 7 - Subjugation

**_It's a short chapter this week folks, I want to give you guys a breather after that crapload of exposition last chapter. I just want to address what Concerned Reader said: I'm sorry if it seemed a little random, but I was reading other Bleach fanfic when I realized that a lot of it just retells the story in the anime. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I just wanted to do something a little more different, a little mind-blowing._**

 ** _Well, that's enough of me talking, enjoy! :)_**

Orochimaru snorted. "What's with the history lesson?"

Ichigo smiled. "You can act as condescending as you want, but even you know that if I stab you with these two legendary swords...you will die."

Orochimaru shook.

"Hmph. Even the best of the ninja in this world are still capable of feeling fear. It's ok now, though," Ichigo quietly said, "I'm willing to forget about your attempted murder of me if you give up now."

Ichigo stuck one of his swords in the ground in a show of peace.

Orochimaru couldn't hold himself any longer and snickered, then dissolved into snakes.

 _A clone!_ Ichigo turned around, barely blocking Orochimaru as the shinobi dove out of the tree and struck with Kusanagi.

The guard of the shorter blade, Joyeuse, shuddered with the force being applied upon it.

It gave, and Orochimaru stabbed Ichigo in his lower bicep. Ichigo yelled in pain, before pulling the blade out forcibly, flipping it around, blade whistling through the air, and severing Orochimaru's upper body from his torso.

Two hands ejected themselves out of Orochimaru's mouth mid-fall, pushing open and tearing skin. They went and went until it gaped widely.

First the skull popped out, then the rest of the body followed. Orochimaru, covered head to toe with slime residue and saliva, dropped to the ground and sent an uppercut.

Ichigo crashed against the wall, hard.

His entire back ached, muscles clenched and tense.

His sword was still buried in the dirt twenty feet away.

Ichigo got to his feet and approached.

A hiss.

Fangs nipped his ear, drawing blood as he ran. The snakes slithered on the ground after him, dozens and dozens more flopping to the ground out of Orochimaru's sleeves.

He reached Goujian, and yanked it out, adopting a defensive stance.

The snakes were on him in an instant, crawling up his legs. He delicately carved with his zanpakuto, shaving them in pieces. Two reptilian beasts burst out of the pack and wrapped around his arms, constricting until the blood flow stopped. Ichigo grimaced. His heart was working overtime in an attempt to make up for the loss of circulation. Reiatsu spilled out uncontrollably, lightly shaking the ground.

Orochimaru seized the opportunity, launching himself at the helpless Shinigami. Ichigo saw him coming and released his hold on Joyeuse.

A single finger pointed. The nails on Ichigo's hand reflected the bright red glow.

"Cero."

The energy coalesced into a solid form and shot forward in an instant. Orochimaru dodged it by leaping back, chakra enveloping his feet. _That would have ended my life had it hit_ , Orochimaru thought frantically. _Need to_ -

Ichigo's loud, booming voice interrupted his thoughts. "Seinaru Akuma Yajirushi Supaiku (Holy Demon Arrow Spikes)."

Light filled Ichigo's vision. When the glare cleared, his gaze was met with an injured, dying Orochimaru, pierced in the back with a spike around the size of a small house. It was shaped like a cross.

Ichigo frowned _. I didn't want him to almost die...just for him to be immobile. These Quincy powers are pretty hard to get the hang of. I don't want the death of someone I don't even know to be on my conscience._

"Hey, you alright?"

IIIIIIIIII

Orochimaru huddled in a small enclosure one hundred feet or so away, peering through a mere slit around ten inches wide and three inches long.

He was 'alright.'

He could see Ichigo walk over to his cleaver. _Or...zanpakuto. It was indeed prudent to send such a large amount of shadow clones. It appears my benefactor's warning that he might kill me was entirely accurate_. Orochimaru paused. _This changes nothing though. The end result will still be the same - this man's death._

IIIIIIIIII

Orochimaru threw three kunai. Then he circled around, outpacing them and arriving behind Ichigo before they reached the reaper of souls.

Orochimaru lunged. Ichigo intercepted Kusanagi with both zanpakuto, pushing Orochimaru away, then dropping both in order to catch the kunai.

The air grew cold.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A poof of smoke momentarily blinded Ichigo, searing his retina with dust and sudden movement. It streamed past him, revealing a gigantic, clearly man-eating snake with a tail thick enough to wrap around and crush a tree, looming over him, its shadow shielding Ichigo from the sun.

Ichigo had been about to pick up his weapons, but upon seeing the summoning Orochimaru had cast, fell to his knees. _I have to...fight that? That monster is larger than a Menos Grande hollow_.

Orochimaru cackled, the purple rope at his waist shivering with his laughter.

Ichigo felt a droplet of sweat sink down his face. _I'm...nervous. No, what is this feeling_? He could feel goosebumps cover his skin as his temperature dropped.

"The tables have turned, eh? Kurosaki Ichigo..." Orochimaru stalked around Ichigo, the latter of whom understood that if he moved, his life would be finished. "Before you asked me if I was scared...now it's my turn. How do the feelings you are experiencing: anxiety, fear, cowardice - how do they feel? I wonder. I've never felt them myself, because- "

"Shut up."

Orochimaru leaned forward, hand cupping his ear. "Sorry, what was that? It sounded like you were begging for forgiveness but I'm not sure- "

"This feeling?" Ichigo interrupted. "This feeling is called anticipation. I haven't fought anything so strong and intimidating since _him_!"

The ground shook.

Sounds of breaking glass could be heard far off, possibly windows, maybe a vase or two. An ear-splitting crack resounded. A tree on the field toppled, the impact loud, startling Orochimaru.

Ichigo, without moving from his kneeling position, began to rise. The air currents gathered around him and lifted him slowly but surely, propelling him above his opponent. It got to the point where Orochimaru had to crane his neck. The pressure filling the atmosphere rose. Orochimaru's ear drums popped from the sheer amount of reiatsu being unleashed by Ichigo.

"You cannot frighten me boy! I personally tamed Manda after defeating him...I fear nothing!"

Ichigo's orange hair burned bright against the suddenly dark sky.

"Why is Kusanagi trembling then?"

Orochimaru convulsed in anger, then ordered, "Manda, attack!"

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8 - Victory!

"Manda, attack!"

Manda reared back, then struck.

"Jigoku no Senkō Tenshō (Moon Fang Hell Piercer)!" A blast of power emitted from Ichigo in a short burst.

Just before Manda and Ichigo's swords made contact, Orochimaru glimpsed a sphere form amidst the debris.

A large cloud came into existence, the column floating up to the sky majestically.

Ichigo stood.

Unharmed.

Orochimaru snarled, his rage reaching the breaking point.

He was akin to a cup about to overfill with water.

"Manda, again!" He commanded, pointing furiously.

Manda dove at the orange-haired Shinigami, whose sphere faded to black.

Ichigo brought the cleaver and long sword together in a cross, intercepting the blow from the humongous snake.

Feet digging into the ground, Ichigo slid backwards a foot, leaving a furrow, then heaved, and pushed his arms out rapidly.

Manda was thrown back, completely overwhelmed by his dominant adversary, yet, still on the ground and upon the order of Orochimaru, flung out with its tail.

Ichigo vaulted over.

Landing on the still thrashing reptile, he hastened up it, scampering around and around with quick steps.

Orochimaru, atop its crest, spotted the challenge and met it, dropping down to plow into Ichigo.

Ichigo alternated thrusting with both zanpakuto, as if they were boxing gloves.

Ichigo threw both his blades, then, when Orochimaru tried to get out of the way, sprinted across the scaly skin and threw a punch.

Orochimaru evaded.

Ichigo, shrugging inwardly, caught the blades with a flash step.

He repeated the process, throwing the blades, attacking, before finally catching and throwing again. Orochimaru barely dodged the last punch.

Ichigo stepped in for the follow up blow, but Orochimaru stomped his foot.

Manda reacted to the signal, flailing.

Seizing the moment, Orochimaru retaliated by beating at his enemy with Kusanagi, the poisoned blade spraying venom.

A drop of venom singed Ichigo's shirt.

Seeing the danger, he flash stepped away.

Still on the snake, Ichigo lobbed his cleaver in an arc, the blade and handle flipping over each other, and pitching his longsword at Orochimaru's legs. _I've got him_! Ichigo smirked.

Orochimaru shared his sentiment. Having perceived potential bodily injury, he retreated and threw away his only weapons. _If this did not go more to my plan, I do not know what will. Now he will come in for the kill...and I'll be ready._

Sure enough Ichigo flash stepped once, then twice, both at different sides of his adversary in an attempt to disguise which direction he would attack from.

Ichigo settled on right in front, lunging, then skidding to a halt.

He propelled his fist towards Orochimaru's chest while Joyeuse and Goujian were sailing through the air to Orochimaru's face and legs.

Orochimaru seized Ichigo's would-be punch, lifting him off Manda's skin and smacking the Reaper of Souls into his own blade, which had initially been headed towards Orochimaru's skull. At the same time, he lightly bounded over Goujian.

Orochimaru snatched Goujian out of the air upon landing.

He drove the cumbersome, heavy blade at Ichigo.

Joyeuse blocked the brunt of Orochimaru's attack.

Ichigo's face contorted into anger lines, tensing up. "You dare use my own weapon against me?!"

He closed his eyes in concentration, veins in his arm popping out as he strained against the much more powerful sword.

Ichigo could sense Zangetsu's disgust at being handled by its current holder.

He felt Goujian willingly give away.

Orochimaru's grip loosened despite himself, before he relinquished his control of it entirely.

Ichigo flung up his cleaver as a distraction, switched to two-hand style and lunged, weapon slashing and dicing as Orochimaru dodged and dodged, before catching his cleaver again.

Both ninja and Shinigami engaged each other in a flowing dance, moving up and down the length of Manda, dominance of the battle shifting.

Orochimaru dropped Kusanagi halfway through the battle.

Ichigo stooped to catch it by instinct before wincing at his stupidity.

Orochimaru spun into a backhanded elbow, knocking it into Ichigo's nose.

The shinobi thrust his hand down his own throat and retrieved another sword, slapping Ichigo with the flat of the blade then jabbing with the tip.

Ichigo parried with the thin-as-paper cleaver. He slashed with his other hand, cutting open Orochimaru and rupturing bone.

The renowned sennin stumbled.

Ichigo let out a sigh of relief, eye twinkling. "Getsuga Juugjishou!"

A star of eye-damaging light and powerful energy burst out of the zanpakuto, swirling out like water from a faucet. It pulsed, as if a star.

Orochimaru screamed.


	9. Chapter 9 - Hidden Agenda

Two pairs of red eyes gazed at him.

Side by side.

One had slits.

One normal, yet cunning.

He couldn't see their faces.

Naruto knew they were smiling.

They shimmered, barely holding their form, then dissipated in a light mist. They were replaced by a boy with incredibly long and wavy orange hair, a ripped black kimono with coarse grey chains wrapping themselves around his bicep and what appeared to be an...insect?

This boy raised his arm. A sword flashed.

Naruto couldn't see.

Then his vision cleared, and he saw the boy standing over the fallen thing, leaning on the sword hilt languidly, the blade stuck in the ground. The sky was painted a splotch of black, though quickly absorbed by the atmosphere.

Naruto wanted to say, {It's beautiful - is that hell's rainbow?} He began to want to speak again with, {Why did he fall over, did he stub his toe?} But Naruto found that the words dwindled in volume before waning completely. He tried to finish another sentence.

Silence.

Naruto shrugged.

He tried to wiggle his fingers and found that his body did in fact work.

Naruto walked over to the man. Both the man and teenager (close to his own age) were frozen; the teenager's chest was not moving like it had been before - it had stopped completely.

A gaping hole in the chest of the man was dotted with the splotches of black that had painted the sky - the black that had been the size of a glacier. Naruto wondered whether that was a natural occurrence or if he was seeing things.

Red eyes.

Then he realized that the whole arena was cold and dark, just like it was every time he felt the presence inside stir.

Red eyes with slits.

Naruto blinked.

The teenager unfroze. He straightened up. "Your friends need you."

Wordlessly Naruto stared.

"Wake up, Naruto Uzumaki. Your destiny, one fraught with turmoil and battle, awaits you to grasp ahold of it. Only you can muster the strength to fight him off. Save your friends from becoming enslaved by his greed." The boy yanked the sword out of the ground and threw it at Naruto. "Wake up."

The tip of the blade pressed against Naruto's forehead, digging in a sharp furrow as it penetrated his brain-

IIII

Naruto sat up abruptly, banging his head on the stone seat in front of him. His chest heaved as he strived to catch his breath, but it was so difficult he slumped over and spread himself out on the floor, taking in deep breaths. Naruto put a finger up to his lips and said random words to make sure his voice box still functioned. "Hum a dum...what the hell...what was that I just saw?"

A voice interrupted his monologue and bellowed, "Getsuga Juugjishou!"

Two columns of light shot up into the sky, similar to what had happened in Naruto's dream, yet smaller in scale. Naruto tried to sat up, and rapidly grabbed the top of the stone chair in front of him to prevent his skull from roughly tapping the floor.

Another man screamed.

 _This isn't what happened in my dream_ , Naruto thought, but he got rid of the thought, bounded over to the edge of the stands, and jumped off.

Initially his feet soared down over the side of the wall, but as he drew nearer and nearer to it, he finally made contact, latching onto it and then running even faster than he had been falling. His excited mind was racing almost faster than his body. _What the hell is happening, and why am I not in the thick of it_!

Naruto reached the bottom, rolling to a stop at the base of the wall, then sprang, dashing over to the commotion.

As he ran, the earlier voice bellowed again. "Konoha!"

Sakura rubbed her eyes.

Ichigo yelled again, "I come here bearing great tidings." Unsure if they were all paying attention, Ichigo let off a wave of reiatsu for good measure.

Kiba woke, saw Shikimaru still unconscious next to him, and tried to wake him. Shikimaru didn't stir.

Continuing on, Ichigo stated, "The lord of all creation has decided that Konoha shall be his base of operations here in this world filled with ninjas and previously unforseen obstacles. I shall be taking over now."

Naruto stopped running. He yelled back, "Shut up and stop messing around, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo turned. "I have never been more serious...Uzumaki..."

Naruto smiled, still thinking it was a joke. He laughed, saying, "Okay, okay...I admit it. You are better at jokes than me. Let's say, just for a second, that you were actually trying to take over Konoha." He paused to emphasize his next statement: "You defeated Orochimaru. He was going to conquer us if you hadn't interfered."

Ichigo smirked. "He wasn't going to conquer you, he just let his own personal objectives get in the way of our mutual mission. The Hokage wasn't supposed to die - we were going to set up a puppet government, with the Hokage at the forefront."

Naruto threw a kunai weakly.

Ichigo batted away with his bare hand. Blood trickled down, but Ichigo paid it no mind. "Sorry Naruto. I actually kind of am. Oddly enough, you were starting to grow on me."

Naruto shuddered. The blood rushed to his head.

Ichigo said more but Naruto didn't hear him. It almost felt like the dream he had earlier, but Naruto knew that even if this was in his mind, it would still be a nightmare. "So you were going to be a little bitch...sneak behind my back, become Hokage while the real one is a mere figurehead...and smile to my face...the entire time!"

Naruto did not even need to hear Ichigo's reply to know what it would be.

IIII

As a rule, a ninja must never unstopper more than three hundred chakra points. An overflow of chakra can cause inflammation of the skin, and in the worst case scenario, implosion. Even advanced techniques, such as the final release of the Eight Gates Formation, is said to utilize a total of three hundred and fifty chakra points.

IIII

Naruto utilized one thousand.


	10. Chapter 10 - Monster vs Soul Reaper

The ground beneath Naruto and the wall behind him disappeared, vaporized in an instant by his savage dispersal of chakra. The instant the ten-foot ditch was created, Naruto flew towards Ichigo, orange aura still forming into claws around his hands.

He swiped at Ichigo, who flash stepped behind him.

Ichigo reared back both swords to strike, only for two hand seemingly formed from orange bubbles to burst from Naruto's back and slam into Ichigo's double zanpakuto.

They were locked in that position for a few minutes.

Naruto stomped his foot in anger.

Shards of rock ruptured upwards. One sliced across Ichigo's calf and caused him to step back unsteadily.

Naruto swiveled with a backhand, knuckles thrashing into Ichigo, the impact flinging him into the far wall in an instant, pulverizing it.

Ichigo flew on, skidding across the landscape, before rolling ten feet straight, and then popping up into a backflip, heels digging in.

Instead of rushing after his adversary, Uzumaki Naruto suddenly fell to his knees.

He looked at his own arm through lamplight yellow eyes. The skin drifted past him, as the rest peeled off more and more. Naruto screamed.

Ichigo, one hundred and thirty yards away, forced himself to stand straight. "I can't...let my master down..." He mumbled, barely able to get the self-motivational words out. "Gotta...use it, eh?"

Ichigo brought his right hand up to the left of his face and gathered reiatsu, the black energy flowing through the air like a torrent of rain, swirling around him, and coalescing into a solid dark mass, his fingers digging in to his skull as he stocked up his power.

He unleashed it and brought his hand down in one smooth motion.

Meanwhile Naruto's transformation was complete.

Naruto's small amount of mental control was completely gone now, his reason stripped away - he was merely a ferocious beast now. Red covered his body like a bloodbath, and two rabbit-like ears sprouted out the top of his head. Four appendages were attached to his body, slithering around and flitting in midair as if they had a mind of their own.

It turned this way and that, looking for a possible target.

Ichigo yelled to get Naruto's attention, "Oi, ugly! Stop ripping off Spice and Wolf and come fight me!"

The beast was puzzled. The orange-haired boy's voice sounded vastly different from before. But it realized it didn't care. An expression some would categorize as a smile appeared on the Jinchuriki's face.

Ichigo flash stepped directly in front of Naruto, who attempted to smack him. Ichigo flash stepped again, darting as a blur out of the fiend's field of vision. The Nine-tails hit the ground again in frustration, only for its head to be split open by Ichigo's blade. Before the sword penetrated deep enough to kill, the monster flicked its head to try and send Ichigo soaring.

Instead a pale, white skull engraved with deathly black markings appeared in front of the senseless Naruto, black eyes with yellow pupils mirroring the Jinchuriki's own in intensity.

IIII

The gate slid open by one stage.

IIII

The rows and rows of teeth and dangerous aura made the four-tailed Naruto feel threatened enough for it to cower momentarily.

IIII

The gate creaked open by two more stages, leaving only two stages left. Kurama's essence sluggishly seeped out of the cage through the opening, as the Nine Tails himself began to disappear. Normally someone would be disturbed by such a development, but Kurama only showed its teeth in a ghoulish smile.

IIII

Then Naruto roared and lashed out in a blind rage.

Hollow Ichigo threw one of his swords into the air to free his hand and intercepted the attack devoid of a weapon, standing firm.

A shockwave burst past him, decimating the arena and carving a deep chasm across it.

Ichigo let go, grabbed his sword out of the air and slashed an 'X' into the devilish Naruto's chest.

IIII

The gate fully tore open. Kurama howled and began gleefully clawing his way out.

IIII

Naruto crumpled to the ground, the seal on his chest glowing through his shirt and illuminating Ichigo's set face. _I knew this was a possibility_ , he thought. Ichigo Kurosaki took a step back. _But I didn't know it would be this...gigantic_.

The Kyuubi towered over the entire arena, its tails whipping around and casually razing the auditorium seats and sweeping all the ninja off them. Its imposing presence alone would have caused Superman to weep, but its incredible height put a giant to shame, as its shadow outstretched over the Ichigo

The Soul Reaper dropped both swords and fell to his knees, completely overwhelmed.

Then the gargantua opened.

And _**Sosuke Aizen**_ stepped out.


	11. Chapter 11 - Godly Threat

Sosuke Aizen smiled warmly at Ichigo, robes flowing behind him like a black waterfall.

Ichigo dropped his head and kneeled while pounding his fist into his chest. "Master...you have arrived."

Aizen glanced around, surveying the area, eyes skipping over the enormous fox monster of a canine in the center of the arena as if it wasn't even there, like it was a matter of little importance. "Where is Orochimaru?" He softly asked.

Ichigo scowled, then quickly fixed it into a genial, servile expression. "He has betrayed us."

Aizen nodded knowingly. "I was counting down the time myself. That was to be expected. When I first recruited him our military power was much smaller, so he was of use back then. Now, we have added to our ranks, and with the addition of Konoha's forces, I suppose we can take over both the Soul Society and the known ninja world."

The Kyuubi roared, almost as if Naruto was still somewhere in its consciousness. It swiped its claws at Aizen.

"Hado #100 - Heavenly Incarceration."

Clouds whisked down from the sky and transformed into oddly bulky chains, curling around the Kyuubi's limbs.

Then they glowed bright with an unbearably white light and exploded.

The smoke cleared just before the Kyuubi collapsed to the ground, shaking the entire stadium.

As if nothing happened, Ichigo questioned him in a troubled manner, "What do you mean, sir? Who has joined us? Surely not Yamamoto."

"He will be subdued soon enough. But no." Aizen stepped to the side of the still open gargantua, motioning and drawing attention to it. "I am speaking of these new servants of mine."

A red eye gleamed in the darkness, motionless.

A different, sandal-covered foot stepped out. Samehada was heaved onto a heavily robed figure's shoulder.

"Ooh, looks like fun!"

A whack and then a weeze of pain exited the gargantua.

"That hurt, you idiot of an artist!"

"Shut up, Tobi!"

A puppet exited the gargantua as that exchange took place. Kankurō's eyes widened as he looked on.

Sasori, along with Itachi and Kisame, stood at the ready, as Tobi and Deidara also took their places along side them.

Kakuzu was propping up a heavily injured Hidan, threads protruding from the devilish man's neck as they sewed his skin up.

Paper fell to the floor of the arena. Konan hovered in the air, wings flapping lightly, their width as large as the gargantua.

The gargantua began to close, screeching. It almost came to a halt when a pale hand stopped their motion, grip cracking the very fabric of space.

Pain slid the door open and stepped out, stark orange hair being blown in the breeze.

With that, the entirety of Akatsuki was assembled. Their strength was enough to cause the five nations in the ninja world to tremble in fear.

And they all bowed at Aizen's feet.


End file.
